Chapter 260: Poisonous forest

My group and I encountered several waves of diseases and hordes of poisonous insects. The Far Mountain Mundane Forest seemed determined to kill us in every way possible.

When there wasn’t a magical beast hiding among the trees, there would be some strange plant releasing spores, poisonous mist crawling along the ground, or swarms of insects so tiny that it was impossible to notice their approach before they were already crawling over our skin.

For an ordinary acolyte, crossing this place would probably have been an extremely unpleasant experience.

For us, however, things were different—more precisely, they were different because of me.

— Don’t cross this area yet.

I raised one hand as I observed a particularly dense stretch of vegetation ahead of us.

I took a small bottle out of my bag.

— Mix three drops of this into water and apply the solution to your clothes. Not your skin. And keep your mouths closed while we cross.

— Will this keep the insects away? — Marak asked.

— The most dangerous ones, yes.

— And the others?

— The others will probably keep trying to crawl into your ears.

Marak remained silent for a few seconds.

— Was that a joke?

— No.

She sighed.

— You’re really scary sometimes, George.

With the help of the potions and devices I had prepared beforehand, we crossed those dangerous areas with relative ease without spending even a single point of mana. And after I demonstrated several different methods of dealing with the insects and diseases, Toral’s attitude toward me changed completely.

He already knew that I had talent in Alchemy and Engineering. But knowing something was one thing, while seeing it with his own eyes was another. Toral watched as I mixed two different substances and created an almost invisible smoke that caused an entire swarm to change direction.

— It’s just a basic application.

— Basic?

He looked at me as if I had just told him that a Rank 1 spell was a child’s game. Even Mitral, a member of the Tubol family and someone accustomed to seeing all kinds of talented individuals within Arcangrove Tower, occasionally cast surprised glances in my direction.

We continued our journey. We walked across the ground, crossed small rivers, went around swampy regions, and followed the mountain slopes.

Two days later, we finally arrived at the location indicated on the map.

The Hanging Cliff.

As soon as I reached the edge, I stopped. My eyes swept across the scenery below. For a few moments, even I remained silent.

— So beautiful...

Marak gasped, and I couldn’t disagree with her. Even Toral, Folbit, and Mitral showed signs of delight at the sight of the landscape.

At the edge of the cliff was a relatively level stretch of land covered in glowing flowers.

They looked almost artificial. At the heart of each flower was an intense red coloration, as if tiny embers were hidden inside the petals. When fully bloomed, each flower was approximately the size of two human fists placed together.

But that was precisely why I became suspicious. In this forest, beautiful things often meant dangerous things.

— George, what are these?

Toral pointed at the flowers.

The Far Mountain Mundane Forest was filled with strange species. Some were poisonous, others were carnivorous, and some possessed magical properties capable of killing an acolyte before they even realized they were in danger.

And the closer we got to our destination, the more careful I needed to be. As an acolyte specialized in Alchemy and Engineering, I had already encountered three traps involving flowers similar to these.

Therefore, I took out a small tool and carefully cut a stem.

— There’s no problem.

I brought the flower closer to my eyes.

— Biochip, compare it with the database.

[Beep!]

[Scanning external appearance.]

[Scanning aromatic composition.]

[Comparison in progress...]

[Result found in database.]

[Identification: Brilliant Tulia.]

My eyebrow rose.

— Brilliant Tulia?

— This is a common plant along the southern coast.

— It’s normally cultivated in plains. Its traditional meaning is associated with nostalgia and respect...

I looked at the mountain covered in those flowers again, because something felt strange.

Mitral spoke while observing the flowers.

— It must have been deliberately planted here.

I slowly nodded.

— That’s what it seems like.

Folbit, who was standing a few steps behind us, spoke in his rough voice:

— Was it the mage who left the inheritance?

I looked at him.

— It’s possible. But we can’t confirm it.

Toral immediately took out the damaged map.

— According to the map, the remains should be located at the bottom of this cliff.

He pointed downward. I didn’t answer immediately. When I had digitized the map earlier, the Biochip had recorded some additional information.

The name "Reneu’s Gardens" appeared beneath the cliff.

Furthermore, there was an indication of a huge area of Brilliant Tulia located precisely in this region. The coincidence was too great. According to my estimates, I would put the probability that we were in the right place at somewhere between eighty and ninety percent.

— What are we waiting for?

Marak could barely hide her excitement. If we really found the remains of an Official Mage and managed to obtain his inheritance, our lives could change completely.

For an acolyte, finding an inheritance left behind by an Official Mage wasn’t simply a matter of obtaining a few resources. That much was certain, to the point that even Mitral, who normally maintained a controlled expression, was clearly showing his anticipation.

The cliff was extremely high. Its walls were steep and covered in granite formations as sharp as blades. For an ordinary human, descending to the bottom would have been practically impossible.

For five Level 3 acolytes?

It was merely an inconvenience.

Folbit was the first to act. His body began to undergo a transformation. The flesh of his right arm twisted, giving way to countless grayish-white tentacles.

The tentacles latched onto the wall, and he began to descend.

The rest of us used another method.

— Floating Feather Spell.

Magical energy flowed through my body, and my weight decreased drastically. I began to slowly float toward the bottom.

Marak, Toral, and Mitral did the same.

Bang.

The spell ended, and my feet touched the ground.

My expression changed.

This wasn’t an ordinary cliff bottom. The entire ground was covered with blade-shaped rocks.

They looked like stone swords buried side by side, forming a deadly field that covered at least half of the lower area of the cliff.

And there were several impaled corpses.

I approached one of them.

— It seems these were living creatures that fell from the cliff.

However, something didn’t make sense.

There were human bodies here as well.

— But how could ordinary humans have ended up here?

— Could they have been acolytes who discovered the clues before us?

That possibility was extremely unpleasant. If other people had already arrived here, perhaps the laboratory had been discovered.

Toral descended shortly afterward.

The next instant, his arm brushed against one of the rocks.

— Damn!

He pulled back, but a cut appeared on his arm. It was deep, at least twelve centimeters long.

Toral gritted his teeth.

— These spikes were made to remain sharp for eternity. On top of that, there are magical spells embedded in them! If that weren’t the case, they would never have pierced my defenses and caused a cut like this.

...

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